DIRECT SOWING I IN TRENCHES. 167 



(L So/ring in 7Vmrhes, or Pits. 



In the methods so far described the seed bed is situated 

 on the same level as the surrounding ground. In the case of 

 trench and pit sowing it is placed below the ordinary surface 

 of the ground, at the bottom of a trench or pit, in which 

 water may collect. The general arrangement of the trenches 

 or pits is the same as in the case of strips or patches 

 respectively. Trenches must be level, to prevent their be- 

 coming water channels. For the same reason they should 

 be interrupted here and there. 



The width of the trenches will, as a rule, not exceed two 

 feet at the bottom; the depth depends on the requisite 



Fi-. 3y. 



a. Soil taken out of the trench. b. Trench filled with water. 



c. Seed-bed. 



amount of water. The distance between the ditches or pits 

 depends on the same considerations as in strip and patch 

 sowings. 



The trenches may be made with the spade, hoe or pick, 

 or partly with the plough and the rest with those tools. The 

 surface soil is kept apart and placed at the bottom of the 

 trench to serve as a seed bed, or better still, it is at once 

 placed into the previously made trench. 



The seed is sown by hand and covered either by hand or 

 with a rake. Where the trenches can be filled artificially 

 with water, or irrigated, the seed is frequently sown on the 

 upper edge of the ditch (Fig. 39), so that it receives sufficient 

 moisture by percolation, without being destroyed by an excess 

 of water. Where irrigation water is not available, and the 



